The Wayfarer of AreAmonAndo
by Aleiav aka Lola
Summary: Based off of EverQuest NPCs and Locations.


Disclaimer: I do not own Everquest or any of it's names, affiliations, ect.  
  
The Wayfarer of Are-Amon-Ando  
Copyright © ALSSGJO 2002- 2003 and beyond  
  
In the early stages of Velious' formation a young wood elf named Cormare was sailing the seas south of Antonica. She had sailed from Kaladim at first, renting a boat from the dwarves who didn't care, mainly because of their constant obsession with the jewels hidden under their mountain's rocks.  
She was in search, like many young headstrong elves, for land to claim in her name but what she found and how she got there was much more than a quest. Cormare was on her great ship Cormallen, and sailed easily through what is now the Iceclad Ocean. She had not seen a rock, dragon, or merperson for weeks and was beginning to be worried for her and her crew's safety.  
That is when she caught sight of white land. Many of her ignorant crew thought they were near docking the shores of heaven but Cormare knew better. She knew that heaven was within the shores of the clouds and that it could never be an island here on Iceclad Ocean. But despite her warnings from the crew of heavenly sorceresses that guard the gates of heaven with ultra wisdom spells and how they would smite her for bringing a body with her soul, she persisted to dock the Cormallen and go onto the shore.  
It was a cold and windy day when she finally reached its shore. Because of her terrified crew, Cormare would have to persist on the exploration alone, with the exception of a small, yet brave gnome named Aduial the Jade. He was brave and persistent, and though he was a caster he was skilled in two-handed sword usage. The only reason Cormare let Aduial join her is because of his expertise in Clerical matters.  
They hesitantly walked off the boat ramp and onto the dry, icy land. Aduial held his hands over his eyes to block the snow from shivering his eyeballs.  
"I don't think that we'll survive this extremity of cold Madame", Aduial chocked out.  
"It will take more than a couple of snowflakes to make me retreat, Aduial. You should have more a sense of self-confidence, control, and optimism. Don't let it rain on your parade", Cormare shouted.  
They headed on through the snow and ice and made their way toward what they could find. They kept heading southwest since the boat was northeast. Finally, after 6 long hours of walking and pausing they began to see a gray object reflect against the snowy winds.  
"Is it a mirage? ", asked the doubting Aduial.  
"Of course not you silly gnome", Cormare replied with a roll of the eye and a slight chuckle.  
"Don't laugh at me! ", shouted Aduial, "You wouldn't have half the guts of a dark elf in Freeport if you didn't have that sword at your side and all that combat training. Why, I've had some combat training in my life too, so you just watch your words, headstrong elf".  
Cormare couldn't utter a word. All she could do was laugh at the audacity of this small creature that in turn looked at her with burning rage in his eyes.  
"Now, I mean it... you, you... elf! " hesitated the young gnome.  
She just headed on and decided not to play games with a gnome who has had quite too much amber ale. They headed on to the gray wall and noticed a sign that said:  
  
Welcome travelers to the peaceful, integrated city of  
Are-Amon-Ando (Elvish for Sunlight- Mountain- Gate). If you are against integration please try the next city of Ry'gorr Keep, or if you need rations badly please enter but keep the peace. Even amongst enemies we still keep peace. All races welcome. Please come again to:  
Are-Amon-Ando.  
  
Utmost Sincerely,  
  
Adan Wayfarer  
  
"Well isn't that somethin'?" asked Aduial.  
"Yeah, I guess so", said Cormare slowly, "But something is definitely fishy".  
"What's fishy about that?" asked Aduial, "Maybe we'll finally get some warm lodgings".  
"You wouldn't be worried about toasting your toes if your father fought along side this man named Wayfarer", said Cormare.  
"You mean he's a tough cookie? Big deal! He sounds nice!" said Aduial tired of the detainment of warmth.  
"I wouldn't exactly call him a 'tough cookie' per say. More like 'booby trap master of the seven seas' type", said Cormare.  
"Oh", stated Aduial.  
Despite Adan Wayfarer's grim and barbaric past Cormare decided to give him a chance. She walked into the gates with her head held high and sword sheathed. Though she was bathed with fear inside she pretended as though she was a frequent visitor to this strange new land.  
In the past Adan Wayfarer had been known as a hateful, deceitful, enemy of all lands. His growing hatred for every race of Norrath, even his own, was untimely cast upon many casualties in Antonica and Faydower. Erudin had yet to see the harmful ways of this horrible man. His heart was cruel and he showed very little pity on hungry travelers and poor peasants.  
When Cormare walked into the city it was strangely silent. Not a peasant nor kinsfolk nor child was roaming the streets. The mercantiles were empty, shops abandoned, and castles retreated… or so it seemed. Aduial stayed close behind her, hiding himself in her long hooded cape. She stood at the center of the city waiting to be ambushed, but no sound came from any building or house.  
"Hello?" she asked.  
"Hello?" Aduial stated.  
They waited around. More silenced coveted them.  
"Well", said Aduial, "It seems as though this city has been conquer-"  
At that precise moment, a dark elf hopped onto Aduial's back. He drew his dagger and said, "Don't move you filthy gnome!"  
"Hey!" shouted Cormare, "Don't talk to him like that!"  
"And who might I ask are you?" asked the dark elf.  
"I am Cormare, from the treetop, beautiful, wood elf land of Kelethin. I am an Emerald Warrior, given my title by the head warrior Regren. What business do you have in this integrated, 'peaceful' city?" she asked.  
"I am Jjhornam, from the beautiful, silent caves of Neirak, the dark elf city. I am not an offical Shadow Night; I have little need of formalities; but I am very skilled in the ways and beliefs of its countries. Cazic Thule has business in any city, elf, for he sees all though he lacks a face. Soon you and this gnome will come under the full wrath of the Faceless", said Jjhornam  
"I thought you didn't like formalities", said Aduial.  
"I don't"  
"Well isn't it a formality that you are a follower of the Faceless? Isn't his reign proclamation formal? I always thought a proclamation was a formality", said Aduial.  
Cormare snickered.  
"Save the small smart talk gnome and prepare to face thy doom", said Jjhornam.  
Cormare began to unsheathe her sword but then a dark hand grabbed the tunic of the dark elf. It was an older dark elf woman.  
"Jjhornam! Young man! What may I ask are you doing!?" she screamed.  
"Aww mom… I was just playing with them", he said.  
"Playing huh? It don't look like playing! Put that dagger up young man! You are too young to be playing with that. Imagine! Your audacity! Attacking helpless travelers on Praise Day. You are supposed to be in praise of Cazic today; if that's the kind of nonsense you want to believe in. Oh how ridiculous! Anyways, you get back in there young man. A teenager dark elf doesn't play! You should be concentrating on your studies!" she replied.  
With that Jjhornam was set down and grudgingly sheathed his dagger and went toward an adobe, brick house in the east.  
"So sorry about that. Jjhornam's always been the creative one in he family… Heh, heh….", she replied  
"It's quite alright", said Aduial getting up dusting himself off.  
"So… where have you travelers come from?" she asked.  
"Well, I've come from Kelethin", said Cormare  
"And I'm from Ak'anon", said Aduial.  
"Well then. I'm sorry you had to come on Praise Day. It was an official decree passed by King Wayfarer himself two years ago. Every person must spend today praising his or her own god. My ignorant son has gone to the Faceless Praise Center. I, myself, have come from the Peace Child Assembly. What gods are do ye praise?" she asked.  
"Oh… uh we're both agnostic", said Cormare  
"Actually", said Aduial, "Ye of little knowing, I am an offical follower of the Peace Child and have been since I was a wee lad".  
"Well I am agnostic", said Cormare.  
"There is an Agnostic Center down the road", said the lady, "It is yellowish-brown. As for you Sir, if you don't mind will you accompany me to the Peace Child Assembly?" she asked.  
"Why yes!" said Aduial quite happy.  
"By the way," said Cormare, "What is your name?"  
"Oh! My manners! Save me! My name is Paijin Treble. My family and me moved to Are-Amon-Ando to escape the Cazic Thule followers of Neirak. We were under siege for many days. The Cazic Thule people of here are strictly forbidden in a code of silence that each person is wished in before they become a citizen here. If they break it they will be executed. Luckily for us, the Faceless Followers are strict on rules and regulations of any kind, so they follow the rule and we are safe and finally peaceful here. And what about you? Where are you from and what might be your names?" she asked.  
"I am Cormare, from the treetop, beautiful, wood elf land of Kelethin. I am an Emerald Warrior, given my title by the head warrior Regren. I have come here to claim and explore new lands. This land isn't on our map. We do not know where we are and have been lost for days. We need rations and a direction home to continue our journey in this world", she said.  
"Ahh, well, I am sure you can find all these things here. We have an abundance of these. As for where you are I believe I can answer that for you. This is the continent of Velious. We are peaceful in this city, but the country is very harsh. Only experts explore and know these lands and they bring us rations a lot as quests to get armor they wish to have. The city that is further is Ry'gorr Keep, which is a very cruel city. The gossip of the city says that King Wayfarer rules that city with a cruel heart behind our backs but I doubt that, for I have met him myself and he is very nice.  
"This city was formed when Velious was first formed by a young, exploring bard woman named Janika OrcSlayerSpike. She found this land and gave it to the higher levels of Kelethin as a gift for being allies back and forth. She was an Orc Slayer ever since 10 orc centurions invaded Freeport while the guards were gone. She fought them with her ring mail armor on given by a high level bard who was quitting to become a hermit in the Desert of Ro.  
"She fought the orcs with one sword and brought them all down at her feet. Ever since then she has been battling orcs. She still lives but has left the city, unknowingly leaving kingship between Are-Amon-Ando and Ry'gorr Keep to fight over. It's hard to keep the peace and fight Ry'gorr Keep. It makes us look hypocritical but we are constantly at war with them. That's this beautiful city's story", said Paijin.  
"Wow", said Cormare.  
"And I am Aduial the Jade. I am a Cleric Priest of Ak'anon. I am also skilled in two handed sword usage also", said Aduial smiling with pride.  
"Well, Praise Day still continues my friends", said Paijin, "Cormare, you will find those of your kind down the road in the Agnostic Center. In the meantime Aduial will meet with me in the Peace Child Assembly. Please stay there. Aduial and I will come and pick you up when the festivities begin. That'll be in about… an hour and a half".  
"Good Bye", said Cormare  
"Farewell", said Paijin  
Aduial just pointed at Paijin and smiled as they headed into the sunset toward the Peace Child Assembly. He looked like he liked Paijin, and Cormare was glad for that. She was so glad she smiled, and then she turned around and headed toward the Agnostic Center.  
The road there was harsh and windy. Cormare stopped and thought of something. The city was desert-like… yet it was windy and snowy outside. This, she knew, had something to do with Adan Wayfarer. He had been known as Norrath's all-powerful Faceless Necromancer. He was skilled in the arts of reincarnation, poisons, and the dead in general. He had been raised, or so the stories say, by a family of abandoned undead pets Cazic Thule had used to kill a group of high-level clerics.  
It is said that he was raised by Cazic himself and brought up with aspirations of world domination and carnage. So naturally, it puzzled Cormare as to why he would be a ruler of a peaceful city. Cormare knew somehow they had to leave soon. She knew all of these people were going to be casualties of Adan's ferocity. But she had no way of leaving, now that Aduial had gone. And she was sure such a vain gnome would quickly bring gossip in this town faster than fire would spread in a dry forest.  
She walked into the Agnostic Center and sat down at one of the stools at the bar. There was a bartender there and tables all around. There were all sorts of races. She saw wood elves, high elves, and a great many dwarves. She saw a group of ogres in the corner and one dubious troll hiding in the shadows on the balcony upstairs. The Agnostic Center looked closer to a bar than anything, and the barbarian bartender didn't help decline that thought.  
"Hello", she said.  
"Hi", the bartender muttered.  
"Perhaps you could help me. I'm kind of new to this city and I'm wondering what it's all about"  
"Did you not read the sign? This is an integrated city, as funny as that sounds in a world like Norrath. But I guess they do their best. Now is it gossip you are looking for, because if that's the case than I'm your man. But if you want history and proven facts, then you should head down to the Bank of Aeries"  
"Well, I guess I could use a little gossip. After all, facts can be just as untruthful as gossip"  
"Ain't that the truth? Anyways, the newest gossip around these parts is about a fellow named Wayfarer. He's the king around here but not many people like him. The people that have traveled here from Felwithe tell us the king of Felwithe is telling them some not so nice things about our king-"  
"Like what?"  
"Like he's been killing tribes that live out in the forests and some of the followers of Bristlebane, the prince of thieves, aren't so happy about that. They say that he hasn't attacked Erudin yet because he's using the Erudites for his master plan. He plans to use the Erudites to help him control both Are-Amon-Ando and Ry'gorr Keep. They say he's trying out for world domination of Norrath and there is going to be a big war against him. The people are splitting, believing whether or not he's really out to get us or not and it doesn't look good. They say that Are-Amon-Ando and Ry'gorr Keep are just the beginnings. Then he plans to take over Norrath, one city at a time."  
"Wow, that's quite a claim"  
Cormare looked around at all of the people in the bar, analyzing which ones would turn to help Wayfarer.  
"I can tell you a few bits about Wayfarer, but you have to swear not to tell anyone you heard it from me-"  
The troll upstairs stirred.  
"If a war goes down, I don't want anyone to hear that I was the one starting it by coming into your city and putting bad mouth against King Wayfarer."  
"Yeah, I gets ya"  
"Now my father fought in one of Norrath's horrible wars; the war between the elven and orc folk. It was a horrible and tragic war that took many good men and women. He fought along side this man named Wayfarer and had told me all about him when I was little. He had told me that this man was cruel. He told me all about Wayfarer's history and his horrible aspirations of world dominance. He told me that Wayfarer had been born of a dark elf man and an Iksar woman. His father was a necromancer warrior and cast a spell on Adan to make him look half elvish so that he could survive in this world with out being killed. He left the baby in one of Qeynos' harsh plains. Nearby Cazic had incarnated a bunch of undead pets to kill an expert cleric group meeting that night in a remote location in the plains.  
"It turns out that the group was an anti-Thule group, meeting to stop Cazic's plan to take over Qeynos. The pets successfully killed all of them and Cazic abandoned them to die in the plains. But his pets had been made with Cazic's rage, which could not just die in the desert. They all traveled in a pack, and one day they came across a baby. By the time they did the spell had worn off and Wayfarer had been shown, as he really was, an Iksarian Dark Elf. They accepted this baby and raised him until he was three and then made their way back to Neirak and gave the baby to Cazic himself. There in the pits of Neirak Cazic raised the baby and he grew up hating all races including his own. He grew many powers that all magic branches have. He can cast glamour like an enchanter, bewitch like a magician, reincarnate like a necromancer, heal like a cleric, and smite like a wizard.  
"I am deeply afraid that Cazic has created an all powerful, all evil, and all deceitful man that he will use in his master plan to take over Norrath. My father told this to me and he told me to always remember the name: Wayfarer", finished Cormare.  
"Wow", said the bartender, "That's some heavy gossip… May I ask how much you have had to drink today?"  
"I beg your pardon"  
"No one actually believes that Adan Wayfarer is a horrid king like they say, and you expect me to believe he is a half Iksar, half dark elf bent on world domination raised by Cazic himself. You've had way too many ales I'm afraid… a one too many."  
With that the festivity bell rang and the people began to file out of the bar. The troll hidden in the darkness went out and never took his eyes off Cormare. Somehow she knew she had to get out of there, and get out of there quick.  
"I'm serious", the bartender said, "I don't think you should go out there for Praise Day Festivities. You could get yourself-"  
"Excuse me, do you mind if I ask you who that troll was?" Cormare interrupted.  
"That troll? Ahh, I don't know. He's been here for a couple of weeks. A real bad character, he's supposed to be. At least that's what the manager of the Blackmoor Inn says down the street. The troll's been staying at the Inn for a couple of weeks, getting home late at night and leaving at dawn. Don't think he's up to much good, to tell you the truth. Humph!"  
"And so your not going to tell King Wayfarer? Don't you think he could be a potential problem?"  
"No, I don't reckon. A lot of the Innoruuk followers go around here all the time, wearing these dark robes. They're just punk teenagers trying to scare everyone, that's all."  
"What about the manager of Blackmoor? Doesn't he think he could be a problem?"  
"Mikhail? Nah. He's really quiet, Mikhail is. He doesn't like to cause a lot of ruckus, especially when we live in a city where a lot of conspiracy rumors are going on. He has a fear of death, and he doesn't want to be killed too soon."  
"Do you think if I went down to Blackmoor, Mikhail would talk to me?"  
"I don't see why not-"  
At that moment Aduial and Paijin came in.  
"Well that was a nice assembly. I never knew that so many trolls liked the Peace Child", said Aduial  
"Yes but some of the trolls only like the Peace Child because she's small enough for them to eat", laughed Paijin.  
"We got to go", said Cormare as she pulled Paijin and Aduial out of the bar.  
"Wait-", said Aduial.  
Cormare pulled them out of the bar and looked around.  
"I'm serious Aduial we have got to get back to Kelethin!"  
"Why are you leaving so soon?" asked Paijin.  
"It's a real personal matter"  
"What personal matter?" asked Aduial, scoffing.  
"I'll tell you on the way", said Cormare as she grabbed him.  
"Whoa!"  
"Wait a minute!" said Paijin  
They both stopped short at the loud and cruelness of Paijin's voice  
"I mean, don't you want to get rations for your ship. It would only be a few stops, and I'm sure King Wayfarer would want to meet you."  
"Yeah I'm sure he would", said Cormare  
"Stop!" said Aduial as he pulled her grip off of his purple robe, "I am not leaving without a proper farewell. We have been traveling all day and the least we can do is get some restoration before we just head off again"  
"News flash gnome! Restoration comes in an incantation form now! We have got to go!"  
"News flash, elf! You aren't leaving unless I'm going with you and I'm not going with you until I rest for at least an hour"  
"Alright!! Fine! Have it your way gnome! But if we get killed then I'm going to spend the rest of my afterlife in Purgatory making your afterlife terrible"  
"Killed! What do you mean killed?" screamed Aduial  
"That's enough!" screamed Paijin.  
They both stopped short again.  
"Come with me and I will put you in some proper lodgings. As far as your ship goes we will send messengers to go and tell your ship to wait for you. Come with me to Blackmoor Inn and I will get you settled", Paijin said calmly.  
"Good, Blackmoor, exactly where I wanted", said Cormare staring Paijin in the face as he passed her.  
"I'm so sorry Paijin I don't know what's gotten into her", said Aduial as Cormare walked ahead.  
"It's okay, she'll be fine as soon as she meets Adan Wayfarer", smiled Paijin.  
They arrived at Blackmoor and began to get settled. Paijin offered to take them to the Praise Day Festivities. Aduial accepted, while Cormare declined; she had to get to the bottom of this Wayfarer, and fast. As soon as Aduial and Paijin left she went to the lobby. The innkeeper, Mikhail who was washing the front desk was the only one present.  
It was a small lobby, made of wood and with burgundy furniture it looked very homey. The innkeeper was a halfling who looked rather uncomfortable and unsure no matter where he looked. He hummed nervously as Cormare looked around the lobby.  
"Excuse me", said Cormare  
"What?" said the innkeeper as he was clutching his rag as if it was protecting him, while looking up with fearful eyes.  
"Relax, okay I only want to ask you a few questions"  
"Okay"  
"You know the troll that had been coming here for the past few weeks?"  
"Yeah"  
"Well the bartender down at the Agnostic Center-"  
"-Or Saurian Bar"  
"Uh huh, well, he told me about a troll I saw there-"  
"Humph! That troll being agnostic, fat chance!"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well everyone knows he's one of the bad sort. No one even knows how he got here. They think he swam through the ocean from Grobb, but I doubt that. Trolls can't swim-"  
"But they can learn"  
"Yeah, well I don't know. He's probably a follower of Bertoxxulous, Innoruuk, or Cazic. Maybe even the Tribunal, Solusek, or Veeshan, you never know. But most likely I'd have to say he's a follower of the Plaguebringer, Bertoxxulous."  
"What makes you think that?"  
"Well, he's a troll, and my maid has been telling me that she's seen a couple of decaying things under his bed. She didn't want to mess with them; he might sue us for religious bases. Any way to get platinum, I tell ya. Anyways, that makes me think he's one of the Plaguebringer's followers."  
"Has he had any meetings with Wayfarer?"  
"King Wayfarer? Adan Wayfarer? What would King Wayfarer have to do with a follower of the Plaguebringer?"  
"I don't know it was just a question"  
The halfling looked at her suspiciously.  
"So, where do you hail from?" he asked.  
"Me? Oh I am from Kelethin. I am an Emerald Warrior, given my title by Regren."   
"What's your name?"  
"What's yours?"  
"My name is Mikhail Vultuxx. I'm a Priest of the Chapel of Mischief."  
"Ahh, a rogue"  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"Nothing. Just didn't think you'd be a rogue. You look more of the warrior type"  
"Ahh phooey. Warriors. Anyways, what is your name now?"  
"My name is Cormare Cormallen".  
"I see"  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"Nothing. You've just been the talk of the Praise Day Festivities, that's all."   
"What? That can't be possible! I haven't been here but for a few hours"  
"And word of mouth travels faster than fire of Solusek Ro. It's no surprise you'd be the talk of the town"  
"And this talk you speak of, is it good talk or bad talk?"  
"I've heard a bit of both"  
"From who? And what?"  
"Well I've heard from Mrs. Paijin and her young son Jjhornam that you were quite the curious and queer one. And I've heard from your inquired that you were quite the fib teller"  
"My inquired?"  
"Yes, your own inquired"  
"The troll?"  
The halfling waited a moment before answering, "Why yes, the troll".  
"What is his name?"  
"Who?"  
"The troll, what is his name?"  
The halfling hesitated. Suddenly, another halfling, quite smaller than Mikhail, barged through the door.  
"Mikhail! Come quick! Madame Vultuxx's cart as just caught fire", he shouted.  
"Probably some pesky human, tinkering with mother's fire wands again. Don't move, elf. I'm not quite through with you".  
Mikhail left and Cormare looked around. She walked behind the counter and noticed a book sitting on its right side, covered in dust. She blew the dust off of the book's cover. It read: Guests: Past and Present.  
"Ah hah!"  
She opened the book and flipped through the pages to the present date. She read off all of the names of the guests. No indication was given as to what race any of the guests might be, and hearing Mikhail's voice at the door, she tore out the whole page. Slamming the book closed as Mikhail walked in, not looking but talking to the other halfling, she tucked the paper behind her breastplate. Mikhail finished his conversation and slammed the door.  
Looking and her he yelled, "Now… you".  
"Look Mikhail Vultuxx, I think you've got it all wrong. I'm not here to question anyone's authority, or make anyone out to be the bad guy. I just heard some high elves talking and-"  
"High Elves!"  
"Yes, and they confused me. I have had too much ale to drink and-"  
"Those pesky, vain, little ingrates! How dare they question Adan Wayfarer! I'll see to it that they all come crashing down, I've just got to find… oh where is that crystal staff my mother gave me…" he said looking in the back slots as Cormare rushed out.  
As soon as Cormare left he turned back around. Looking at his desk he sniffed around for any changes. Finding his Guest book un- dusted he looked at the door sharply. As he opened the book a red mist came shooting out of the book. The book levitated and the pages flipped and turned. Blowing Mikhail nearly to his feet the book faced him. A gust of red mist blew him to the slots in the back. Papers where flying everywhere as the book showed him and Cormare standing in the room just moments before.  
In the mist he could see Cormare ripping out the page and dashing for the exit. As soon as the vision was over the red mist turned white and the book slammed shut, dropping to the floor and spinning before coming to a complete stop as the papers fell to the ground. Mikhail moved his arm from his forehead.  
He picked up the book and set it back on the right hand side of the desk. As soon as he put it down a brown mist came from under it, swirling around, covering the book again with dust, while in the background the papers where flying back into their slots. As soon as the book was covered, the halfling looked up from the book.  
His eyes burned as red as Lavastorm as he said, "Cormare".  
  
Cormare ran out of the store and bumped into Aduial, who stood with his hands on his hips with a disapproving glance at Cormare.  
"And where may I ask have you been?" he asked.  
"I was just-"  
A scraping sound came from below them. It sounded like two stones where being scraped on another.  
"What's that?" asked Cormare  
Suddenly the stone that was holding them both dropped down and they fell in a narrow tunnel.  
"Ahh!"  
Hearing the shouts the townspeople close to the Blackmoor Inn door looked up, but the stone went back to it's original place before anyone could notice anything. The townspeople shrugged.  
Meanwhile below the stone, Aduial and Cormare where sliding down a long tunnel. They landed, hard, in a dungeon.  
"Where are we?" Cormare asked weakly.  
"How am I supposed to know?" asked Aduial agitated.  
They looked around and saw a big wooden door. There was a window of bars on the door, but nothing could be seen outside, save for pitch-blackness. There were no other windows and the only thing that provided them light was a large, standing candle in the center of the room. At the base of the candle were a plate of bread and a flask of water. Beside the plate there was a note. Cormare opened it and it said:  
  
By the order of King Adan Wayfarer, you Cormare Cormallen of Kelethin, and you Aduial the Jade of Ak'anon, are being placed under arrest and jailed for the alleged conspiracy and espionage against our fair King Adan Wayfarer. You both will be fed rations twice a day and will be sentenced before the waxing moon. Your ship has been seized, and your crew has been imprisoned. If you both survive the sentencing then you will be given rations and sent your way home, not permitted to stay. If you don't survive the sentencing then your ship will be destroyed, your crew killed, and you will be imprisoned for the rest of your days.  
  
Signed,  
Baron Wyse DuPont of Oggok  
  
Cormare looked at the letter in disbelief.  
"Aduial come read this!"  
Aduial read the letter and then sulked down in the corner of the dungeon.  
"We've got to get out of here Aduial".  
"I know we do! Don't you think I know?"  
"I know you know… look, now isn't the time for fighting"  
"How are we going to get out? There aren't any windows!"  
"I don't know but we've got to find some way our of here"  
"I say we wait until the sentencing"  
"Good idea, we can escape then"  
"Hello! Did you not read the note? Our ship has been seized and our crew imprisoned. Even if we did escape we couldn't rescue all of our crew and we couldn't find the ship. We know nothing about this town. I say we wait until the sentencing! Then we can claim our innocence, recover our crew, gain our ship, and sail back to Faydower!"  
So they waited. Five days passed slowly for the warrior and the cleric and they were very famished when the guard came to take them to the sentencing. They were handcuffed and roughly escorted out of the dungeon. They were led down a long corridor to a lead door. When the guard opened the lead door, sunlight exploded in, nearly blinding Aduial and Cormare, who had not seen the rising sun for several days now. They were brought to the town's square where millions of races and townspeople awaited their sentencing. On a wooden pedestal stood a judge. He was a tall elf with a slightly disgruntled look upon his face as he held the gavel in his immensely long black robe with a fake white wig of hair atop his head.  
Beside the disgruntled judge stood a wooden gallows. It had two nooses, prepped and ready for a death sentence. This intimidated Aduial but had no effect on Cormare. Next to the gallows there stood a wooden royal box holding King Adan Wayfarer and some royal officials. Adan looked at Cormare with recognition, but only slightly, for he had never seen his fighting partner's child before. But the striking resemblance between Cormare and her father sent a chill up Adan's back.  
The townspeople gathered at the front of the gallows noisily while Cormare and Aduial where lead up to the front. Before the judge spoke a word, loud trumpets where played to quiet the crowd. It was then that the judge spoke.  
"Cormare Cormallen of Kelethin and Aduial the Jade of Ak'anon, you have been placed under arrest by the Wayfarer Militia for the alleged conspiracy and espionage against our fair and noble king, Adan Wayfarer. It is here you will be sentenced to death, or freedom, depending on your explanation of your actions and your defense against the prosecutor's comments. Representing Are-Amon-Ando will be Baron Wyse DuPont of Oggok. He will present a case against you.  
"Everyone is equal under the law and you may have your own defense representor if you wish, or you may act as your own lawyers. What is your decision regarding that?"  
Cormare and Aduial had a small discussion.  
"We'd like to act as our own attorneys", said Cormare.  
"Very well. Baron DuPont bring up your first witness", said the judge.  
"Me first witness be da innkeeper of da Blackmoor Inn", the ogre replied.  
The crowd backed away to let Mikhail through. He stepped up to the witness stand, which was by the judge's high seat. He looked around nervously at the judge and then at Baron DuPont. A man dressed in a flowing black robe with purple insets approached him. He set a book on the stand. Aduial saw that the book was titled "Book of Discord"; because he was the only one small enough to see past the judges stand.  
The man in the black robe grabbed Mikhail's hand and placed it on the Book of Discord.  
"By the order of Discord, do you Mikhail Vultuxx, promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" he replied.  
Mikhail looked around nervously, as he always did before finally saying, "I do".  
The black robed man picked up the Book of Discord and went back into a building on the right of them. It was then that Baron DuPont approached Mikhail on the bench. Before speaking, the Baron raised his arms and a powerful blue light surrounded his hands in a circle. The Baron collected all of the blue auras and molded them into a ball that then grew into a deep blue hue. The he ate the ball, much to the surprise of all of the magic-folk in the audience. Then the judge spoke.  
"Let the records show that Baron DuPont has casted a language spell to better his common speech for the judge's understanding"  
It was then that Baron DuPont approached the stand to question Mikhail. His voice was like a human's, which was strange coming from an ogre of such great proportion.  
"Mikhail Vultuxx?"  
"Yes"  
"You are an upstanding citizen, aren't you?"  
"Yes, I have never broken a law… not once"  
"And you abide King Wayfarer, don't you?"  
"Of course! All of his proclamations are like sacred texts to me"  
"Ah! So you would never join a conspiracy against our noblest of kings, would you?"  
"No! Never!"  
"Good. Where were you this afternoon? Did you not attend the Praise Day Festivities?"  
"No, I didn't. Right after going to the Brell Serilis Congregation underground, I returned back to my work… the Blackmoor Inn. I thought perhaps some travelers might want to reserve a room before Praise Day Festivities, right after leaving their place of worship, in case they were far from home and couldn't leave that night."  
"I see. What happened then?"  
"Well, I had only been there but for a few minutes, maybe ten, when Ms. Cormallen and Mr. Aduial comes in with a friend of there's. You might now her. Her name Is Paijin Treble."  
"And what did they come in to Blackmoor for?"  
"Well, Paijin said that they were far from home and had lost there way on the Iceclad Ocean and needed rations and a place to stay before she could come to the King and ask for his help to assist them home."  
"And what did they do after that, Mikhail?"  
"Well Paijin and Mr. Aduial left. Ms. Cormallen stayed in her room for awhile, maybe a couple minutes, then she came out."  
"Did she talk to you?"  
"Yes she did"  
"And what did she say?"  
"She was asking me about one of my customers. A troll. She said she saw him at Saurian Bar, during Praise Day Worship… Which would serve then as the Agnostic Center. I personally didn't believe her at first, saying that the troll was at the Agnostic Center, mainly because I believed him to be a follower of the Plaguebringer. Then she asked me if he had any meetings with King Wayfarer. I told her that of course he didn't. What would the King have to so with a follower of the Plaguebringer?"  
"And then what happened"  
"Well, and then my brother burst in and told me my mother's cart had caught on fire and I rushed out to help him-"  
"Leaving Cormare in the Inn?"  
"Yes. When I got back I was about to start an argument. I don't like people talking bad things about Adan Wayfarer, and I wanted to set her strait. Then she told me that she didn't come here to make anyone look bad and that some high elves where talking and she got confused and perhaps she had had too much ale and then I just blew up… not at her… at the high elves. I was going through one of my tempered fits. Ask my brother. He'll tell you. I have them when I get mad. And I was looking for my staff and she rushed out"  
"And then?"  
"And then I noticed that my guest book was different. It turns out she had ripped a page out of it and left"  
"Thank you Mr. Vultuxx. May I present, your honor, Exhibit A?" he said as he held up the page ripped out from Mikhail's guest book, "It is the page Cormare Cormallen ripped out of Mikhail Vultuxx's Blackmoor Inn Guest Book."  
He set down the page on the judge's stand.  
"Thank you Mr. Vultuxx, you may step down", said the judge.  
The judge examined the paper.  
"Call your next witness, council".  
"I call Xinharn Willowweaver to the stand"  
Cormare and Aduial looked around curiously. The crowed made way for the huge barbarian that stood at the stand. The robed man, also known as the Priest of Discord, swore him in and he sat down making himself at home. Cormare suddenly recognized him. He was the bartender of the Saurian Bar.  
"Who's that guy?" whispered Aduial.  
"He's the bartender at the Agnostic Center", replied Cormare.  
"Oh no, what have you done?" asked Aduial angrily.  
"Xinharn?" said the Baron.  
"Yes", asked Xinharn.  
"If I remember correctly, you are one of the head gossipers of the town. Am I correct?"  
"Well, sir I don't make up things but when I hear news from some people I pass it along. I like to stay on top of things. I don't call it gossip. News is news."  
"I see. Do you know Ms. Cormallen?"  
"Slightly. She came in my bar for awhile, before the Festivities."  
"And did she talk to you?"  
"Yes. She wanted to know what the town was all about. I asked her if she read the sign in front of the Gate and I told her I don't know about stone facts when it comes to this city but I do know quite a bit of news and I offered to share some with her."  
"Did you?"  
"Yes. I told her about that silly rumor of our king against Felwithe and the followers of Bristlebane-"  
"Oh! That rumor"  
The townspeople agreed.  
"Yes, that one. She seemed to take it with no surprise. It thought she didn't know who King Wayfarer was and that was why, but she told me some story about King Wayfarer being half dark elf, half Iksar"  
King Wayfarer's eyes grew wide with fear as the barbarian continued.  
"And she said he was out to rule Norrath and she knew all this because her father fought with him in the Orc Wars. She said he was abandoned in the Karanas and was found by a bunch of incarnated Thule-pets and was then taken to Neirak where he was raised by Cazic himself to hate all races"  
The townspeople began to laugh and Xinharn began to too.  
"And she said that he was an all powerful, all deceitful, all evil man who was trying to take over Norrath one city at a time", finished the barbarian before he bent over in a hysterical laughing fit.  
The judge pounded his gavel several times, but before he could quiet the townspeople below him, he himself, began to laugh too. King Wayfarer began to laugh nervously and the whole town engaged in a hysterical laughing uproar.  
Cormare, seizing the moment like her father had always taught her grabbed Aduial's hand and ran off the gallows and hid in an alleyway by the Discord building. Looking at the ceremony she could see that the questioning had continued as the townspeople calmed down, and no one could tell her and Aduial had ran off.  
"What are you doing?" screamed Aduial pulling his hand from hers.  
"Ssshhh! Be quiet gnome! Don't you see? They've forgotten us. This is the only time we have to get out of here"  
"And get ourselves killed?" he said angrily.  
"No! They will be in that court ceremony for hours. I figure they are going to question Paijin and Jjhornam too and that could take awhile. It will be hours before they notice we're not there. We have to find a way to get off this island, even if it means by a small rowboat. We'll sail to Fironia Vie and catch the boat to Butcherblock Mountains. Then we'll hike through Faydark, to Kelethin to warn Regren and my father of Adan Wayfarer."  
How they would pull this off was a mystery to the gnome as they ran down the misty alley, while sounds of the trial filled the air.


End file.
